My name is Giorgia Demaria. I graduated in Psychology (BSc) at the University of Turin, in Italy, where I also did a clinical internship in a neuropsychology unit of “Presidio Sanitario San Camillo”, a rehabilitation hospital. I later went on to attain a MSc in Neuropsychology at Maastricht University, in The Netherlands. During my Master I did an internship at the Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience (Dublin, Ireland) and collaborated in the INDIREA project “Investigating the Effects of Brain Stimulation on Visual Attention in Older Adults”. After this, I was offered the possibility to do a traineeship at Eurofighter Jagdflugzeug GmbH, in Munich; definitely not my field, but in my opinion every learnt skill will help you in your career!

I am interested specifically in neurodegenerative diseases related to old age, visual cognition and my main objective is to do research that will lead to clinical application, in order to gain better and more reliable diagnoses, and consequently more efficient rehabilitation techniques.

Aim of the project

The current gold standard for functional testing of the visual system in glaucoma, standard automated perimetry, cannot be used in very young and old patients, patients with motor problems (Parkinson disease) and cognitive limitations (as part of aging, including Alzheimer disease, or congenital). In this project we will evaluate a new objective functional test developed by partner NCO (multifocal pupillographic objective perimetry), a new form of attentional perimetry developed by partner OCU (Ocusweep), and several other alternatives for standard automated perimetry in healthy subjects, patients with glaucoma, and in patients with limited motor and/or cognitive performance – with and without glaucoma or other diseases affecting the visual field. We will focus on learning effects, sensitivity and specificity, intra- and inter-device variability, testing time, and feasibility in the various subgroups, and initiate a longitudinal assessment.